Paper box.



J. M. PULEY.

PAPER BOX.

APPLICATION FILED 1uLY22. 1914.

1,138,788. Patented May 11, 1915.

@144. WW w y 8 [22 11622 for THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTD-LITHO. WASHINGTON, D C,

J'OHNJVL PULEY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

PAPER BOX'.

Application filed. July 22, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN M. PULEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Paper Boxes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to paper, paperboard, or paste-board boxes of the type widely used by dry-cleaners, tailors, laundries, dry-goods houses, and the like forpacking and delivering goods, and has for its main object the provision of a box of this nature which can be economically manufactured and which can be folded into compact form for transportation or storage without disconnecting the same at the corners. Boxes have long been known in which the sides were formed by folding upwardly the marginal portions of the bottom, and securing those sides in upright position by interlocking their corners through the agency of suitable tongues and slits. storage of boxes of this nature has always heretofore required a large amount of space in case the boxes were stored in expanded or operative condition, and has necessitated a large amount of labor if they were to be stored in flat condition, since their change from the one condition to the other has heretofore necessitated the buttoning and unbuttoning of these tongues and slits.

It is the object of this invention to provide a box wherein the change from one condition to the other can be effected without such disconnection of tongues and slits thus permitting the boxes to be completely assembled at the factory and shipped to the user in folded condition, and kept by him-in such condition until required for use, being then merely pulled into operative condition by a single simple operation requiring a minimum of time and attention.

Another object relates to the provision of means whereby the box may be retained in operative position until intentionally folded; While further objects and advantages will appear as this description proceeds.

Generally speaking my invention may be defined as consisting of the combinations and constructions recited in the claims hereto annexed and illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this application, wherein:

Specification of Letters Patent.

The

Patented May 11, 1915.

Serial No. 852,392.

Figure 1 represents a plan View of a portion of a blank cut and scored in accordance with my invention but prior to its being folded into box form. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of one end of the folded box; F1g. 3 is a perspective view of the entire box ready for use; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the same box showing the arrangement of the parts when the same is folded for transportation or storage; Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a modified form of box showing the same folded as in Fig. l; and Fig. 6 represents a partial side elevation of the box illustrated in Fig. 5, the same being in condition for use.

The blank shown in Fig. 1 consists of paper, card-board, or any suitable material, and is cut by a die, or in any suitable way so as to form a bottom 1 surrounded by flaps 22 33 and 4l-i the flaps being defined from the bottom by scores or creases 5-5. These various flaps when turned upwardly serve to form the walls of the box as illustrated in Fig. 3, the flaps 22 being here shown as elongated so as to form theside walls of an oblong box, the flaps 3-3 being transverse so as to form the ends of such box, and the flaps H being arranged obliquely between the ends of the flaps 22 and 33 the whole number of flaps must be greater than four and angles formed between adjacent fiaps are preferably equal and are necessarily greater than right angles. In the present embodiment I have illustrated an eight sided box, which is, the preferred form, the angles between adjacent flaps being 135, but I do not restrict my self to this number. One end of each flap is provided with an integral tongue 6 defined from the flap by the-crease 7 and having at its portion removed from the crease 5 a notch 8 defining a finger 9. The end of the adjacent flap is formed with an arcuate slit 10 struck from a point at or near the intersection of creases 5 and 7 upon a radius sub stantially equal to the distance between the bottom of the notch 8 and the point of intersection of those creases. In the embodi: ment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 hereof the upper portion of this slit is distorted so as to fall within the arc struck upon said radius about this Point (see a, Fig. 1) and the end of this slit is formed with an upwardly extending notch 11 shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The box is assembled by lapping the tongue 6 of each flap upon the outside of the succeeding flap and inserting the finger 9 into the slit 10 thereof. This may be done at the factory, after which the whole box may be folded inwardly to the position shown in Fig. 4c, the various flaps overlapping each other successively and the fingers 9 being received in the lower portions of the arcuate slits 10. When the box is desired for use it is necessary for the user merely to introduce his hands underneath opposite flaps 33 and give the same an upward and outward pull, whereupon the sides all rise to upright position, the flexibility of the material permitting the fingers to pass by the distorted portions of the slits and finally become interlocked with the notches 1111 thereof as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The box is now ready for use and may be handled freely without danger of collapsing, although it is a very simple matter to disengage the fingers and refold it to. the position shown in Fig. 4 should occasion arise.

In case it should be necessary or desirable to lock the sides in upright position the slits may be made to follow more accurately the arc struck around the intersection of the creases 5 and 7 as shown at 10 in Figs. 5 and 6, and in this case the notch 11 is omitted. With this arrangement the box sides can be raised and lowered with a minimum of difliculty.

With my improved box I may use a cover of any suitable or convenient construction, preferably of the same construction as the box itself as is common in such .cases, although any style of cover could obviously be employed. It is requisite to the construction of this box that the angle between adjacent creases 5-5 be greater than 90, and

also that the angular extent of the slits bev sufficiently greater than thatof the fingers to permit the necessary angular movement of the sides. The relative angular movement between the sides will obviously decrease as the angle between the adjacent creases 55 increases, being 90 when these creases stand at 90 and 0 when these creases stand at 180. This may be expressed by the statement that the relative angular movement of adjacent flaps is proportional to the supplement of the angle between their creases. Furthermore it is preferable that the length of each flap be suflicient to prevent the finger 9 of the flap at one side from coming into contact with the edge of the flap at the opposite side as shown in dotted lines at b in Fig. 4.

Commercially a box constructed as illustrated in Fig 3 appears to possess all of the advantagesof the square cornered box, since clothing, laundry, and the like materials ordinarily handled in these boxes seldom fill the sameclear to the corners. However, it will be obvious that my invention extends to and comprehends boxes of all shapes and arrangements of sides so far as the same fall within the claims hereto annexed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 2-- 1. A blank for paper boxes consisting of acentral or body part, integral flaps carried by the margins thereof, each flap being defined from said body part by a flexible crease or fold and the creases of adjacent flaps making an angle of more than 90, and a securing member carried by each flap adjacent to one lateral edge, each of said flaps being formed with a curved slit at a point removed from its securing member and extending from a point adjacent the lateral edge of the flap to a point adjacent its crease, each of said slits being of greater longitudinal extent than the corresponding securing member and adapted to receive the securing member of same both in folded and in expanded position.

2. A blank for paper boxes consisting of a central or body part, integral flaps carried by the margins thereof and defined there from by flexible creases or folds, the creases of adjacent flaps making angles greater than 90, and means including a curved slit and a securing member for securing adjacent flaps together, each of said slits being curved about a center substantially coinciding with the intersection of the corresponding creases, and the corresponding securing member be ing carried by the adjacent flap at a distance from its crease substantially equal to the radius of curvature of said slit.

3. A blank for paper boxes consisting of a central of body part, integral flaps carried by the margins thereof and defined therefrom by flexible creases or folds, the creases of adjacent flaps making angles greater than 90, and means including a curved slit and a securing member for securing together the meeting edges of adjacent flaps, each of said slits being curved about a center substan tially coinciding with the intersection of the corresponding creases and having an angular extent sufficient to permit the infolding of said flaps without disconnecting said securing member from said flaps.

4. A blank for paper boxes consisting of a central or body part, flaps carried by the margins thereof and defined therefrom by flexible creases or folds, the creases 0f adjacent flaps making angles greater than 90, and a securing member carried by each flap adjacent to. one of its lateral edges, said securing members being arranged upon the corresponding edge of each flap so as to progress uniformly around the blank, each of said flaps also having at a point removed from its securing member an arcuate slit extending from a point adjacent its lateral edge to a point adjacent to its crease and adapted to receive the securing member of the adjacent flap, the radius of curvature of said slit being substantially equal to the distance of the securing member from its crease and the center of curvature of said slit coinciding substantially with the point of intersection of the corresponding creases.

5. A blank for paper boxes consisting of a central or body part, flaps carried by the margins thereof and defined therefrom by flexible creases or folds, the creases of adjacent fiaps making angles greater than 90, a flexible tongue carried by one of the lateral margins of each flap and adapted to overlap the adjacent flap, and an outwardly projecting finger extending from each tongue and defined by a notch, each of said flaps also having an arcuate slot formed about the point of intersection of the corresponding creases and adapted to receive said finger, the length of said slit being greater than the width of said finger whereby said flaps may be folded inwardly about their creases without Withdrawing the fingers from their slits.

6. A blank for paper boxes consisting of a central or body part, flaps carried by the margins thereof and defined therefrom by flexible creases or folds, the creases of adj acent flaps making angles greater than 90, and a flexible tongue carried by one of the lateral margins of each flap and adapted to overlap the adjacent flap, said tongue having upon the side away from the corresponding crease a notch defining a finger, each of said flaps also having an arcuate slit formed about the point of intersection of said creases and adapted to receive the finger of the adjacent flap, the part of said are farthest from said crease being deflected inwardly so as to fall inside the bottom of said notch and the end of said are being formed with an outwardly extending notch adapted to interlock with said first notch.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a

paper box having infolded overlapped wall forming flaps, each of said flaps having an arcuate slit at one end and also having a fastening tongue at the other end adapted to enter the slit of the adjacent flap, the angle between adjacent Walls being greater than 90 and the angular extent of such slits being sufiiciently great to permit said walls to be raised and lowered without disengaging said tongues.

8. As a new article of manufacture, a paper box comprising a bottom, a plurality of flaps integral therewith and flexibly connected thereto, and a securing tongue car ried by each flap, each of said flaps also having an arcuate slit receiving the tongue of the adjacent flap, each slit being substantially concentric with the angle between the adjacent flaps and having an angular extent sufiicient to permit the infolding or upturning of said flaps without disengaging said tongues.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a paper box comprising a bottom, a plurality of flaps integral therewith and flexibly connected thereto, and a securing tongue carried by each flap, each of said flaps also having an arcuate slit receiving the tongue of the adjacent flap, each slit being substantially concentric with the angle between the adjacent flaps and having an angular extent sufficient to permit the infolding or upturning of said flaps without disengaging said tongues, said tongue and slit being. formed with interengaging notches whereby said flaps can belocked together when in upturned position.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN M. PULEY.

Witnesses:

HAROLD E. SMITH, BRENNAN B. W'Es'r.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

